4.3.1 Gender, Women and Armed Conflict
Globally, gender is increasingly being recognized as a fundamental issue in armed conflict (Enloe 2004; Alison 2009; Sjoberg and Peet 2011). Beyond an understanding of the gendered effects of war and how women become victimized, scholars have sought to understand gendered agency in war, showing how women navigate insecurity and seek opportunities (Jacobs, Ruth, and Marchbank 2000; Moser and Clark 2001). An important strand in the literature explores how violent conflict may involve shifting gender roles, power relationships, and shape gendered identities ( El-Bushra 2003; Cohn 2013). The literature also examines why women may join conflict. Drawing on research in Northern Uganda, Sierra Leone and Mozambique, Mazurana and McKay (2004) present a range of reasons which inspire women and girls to enter armed forces: to seek revenge, to express political opinions, to uphold religious identity, to ameliorate poverty, and/or to see protection from violence. Studies from other regions introduce the prospect of women’s emancipation as a motivating factor for participating in armed conflict. Kampwirth’s (2002) study on Latin American guerrilla movements found that family traditions of resistance, early networking in church, student youth groups, and revolutionary networks played a role, but so did age, as younger women without family responsibilities were more likely to join. Similarly, Alison’s (2009) study in Sri Lanka proposes five reasons why women join the Liberation Tamil Tiger Eelam (LTTE) as fighters: nationalist sentiment, suffering and oppression, educational disruptions and restrictions, sexual violence, and the desire for women emancipation.
What these studies reveal is that women may join fighting forces as an escape route from a mix of (gendered) pressures, but also due to ideological and political motivations. Armed struggles may offer women the prospect of empowerment, both at the individual level and more broadly. Work to date has shown how women might gain power in armed groups, search for their voice, claim equality, renegotiate gender roles, and engage with advocacy and struggle for women’s rights (Hilhorst 2001; Niner 2011; Denov and Ricard-Guay 2013). The literature has paid less attention on the role of ideology and women’s motivations. This paper explores what the
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Maoist ideology of (gender) equality meant to women, and how it not only attracted them to the movement but kept them engaged as they connected it to their own personal struggles for empowerment. In the narratives of women ex-combatants, it is the Maoist discourse of gender equality in combination with the practical organization of a more equal division of labor, which allowed for transformative experiences. By zooming in on the narratives of women who joined the Maoist struggle, this paper provides ethnographical depth that allows us to show not only what this ideological commitment and empowerment meant to them, but also how they sought to carry it forward after the peace agreement which they hoped would bring lasting gender transformations. As we do this, we trace how caste, class and gender identities intersect.
4.3.2 Integrating Intersectionality
Crenshaw (1989) is accredited with originating the notion of intersectionality to address the experiences and struggles of women of color who fell in-between the feminist and anti-racist discourse. Since then, intersectionality has become a key concept used to analyze the multiple forms of discrimination affecting women, as well as the differences between them. In the case of Nepal, a growing body of feminist scholarship has focused on intersectionality and moved to reconsideration of differences and inequalities between women (Tamang 2009; Nightingale 2010; Ramnarain 2014). Tamang (2009, p.10) critically examines the participation of Nepalese women in different political processes including the Maoist struggle and provides a strong contribution to theorizing intersectionality in Nepal, offering an explicit exploration on how gender intersects with caste, class, religion, ethnicity, politics and geography, and argues why portraying Nepali women as a universal category is inappropriate. Furthermore, Nightingale’s (2010) study in Mugu, Nepal explores how gender and caste intersected in the daily lives of Dalit and non-Dalit women and reproduced hierarchy. At the same time, an empirical study by Ramnarain (2014) points out how widows’ identities intersect with gender, caste, class and age in their struggle for survival in post-conflict Nepal.
This article draws upon these frameworks on intersectionality to examine women ex- combatants’ differentiated experiences in Maoist conflict and post-conflict Nepal. As we will show, their narratives reveal that their struggle for empowerment engages gender, caste, and multiple forms of discrimination within a broader critique of poverty and exploitation. The Maoist emphasis on gender and caste equality was experienced as liberating by women of all castes.
86 4.4 Methodology
This paper employed ethnography approach utilizing in-depth interviews, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. The interviews were conducted by the first author, a Nepali, in the framework of Ph.D. research. Thirty-five Maoist women ex-combatants were interviewed for this study. In addition, four focus group discussions were conducted with women ex-combatants and key informant interviews with local leaders. Finding female ex- combatants for interviews proved very challenging. Respondents were living in Chitwan district where they had settled after completing demobilization13, but none were from Chitwan originally. At first, Maoist political leaders were contacted by drawing on earlier established networks. They provided the contact details of five former Maoist commanders, who then provided contacts of a few women ex-combatants in various districts of Nepal. Chitwan district was then selected because the women ex-combatants there seemed more willing to participate. Additionally, women were then approached through snowball sampling. Respondents interviewed originated from various districts including Gorkha, Kalikot, Rukum, Salyan, Kavre, and Sinduli. They belong to a variety of castes and ethnic groups: Tamang, Magar, Thami, Gurung, Rai, Limbu, Tharu, Dalit; two women were from high castes (Bahun and Chettri).
The field work lasted from January 2014 until February 2015 and was conducted in various episodes. Before starting the field work, two exploratory visits were made in December 2013 and January 2014. During these visits, the author introduced herself, offered her background and family information and answered participants’ questions. This helped to build trust with the women.
The interviews lasted from two to three hours each and follow-up visits were made to the same women several times. The interviews were conducted entirely in Nepali and audio-recorded. Notes and photographs were taken only after getting consent from the interviewees. The main
13 According to the UN (2000) demobilization: is the process of dismantling of the military units and the
transition of combatants from military to civilian life. This phase also includes: i) processing individuals: combatants are settled in temporary centres (such as; cantonments, camps, or assembly areas), and are given options to transition to civilian life, and their family/community members are contacted. ii) Delivering
assistance: providing combatants with support or insertion packages (i.e.; cash, compensations, basic materials, trainings, and stipends for education) to sustain them during their transition from camp to civilian life.
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researcher had the advantage of being Nepalese: interacting in Nepali language made the interviews more lively and in-depth, and the researcher was able to understand the local slang, which gave cultural and contextual meaning to the topic. Furthermore, sharing a context regarding history, culture, food habits, clothing, marriage, religion, and local festivals enabled the researcher to become an insider. After collection, the data was translated into English then interpreted and analyzed using Atlas ti software. To maintain confidentiality of the interviewees, all the name in the paper are pseudonyms, however, the participants’ gender, caste and ethnicity are retained in the surnames.